This may not be in the quality category that you are looking for but I got a mid level Panasonic consumer video camera three years ago (forever in this technology) and [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.sweetwat…"]this Rode Mic[/]="http://www.sweetwat…"]this Rode Mic[/] really helped the audio quality and it was easy to use.

Bob, thanks a lot! I really don't want to spend $250... but it really seems that it makes a huge difference. Especially outdoors that dead kitten screen makes a huge difference. I will probably save / sell a couple of things and go with this one :)

you dont need stereo.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.sweetwat…"]this rode[/]="http://www.sweetwat…"]this rode[/] is $100 cheaper and good quality.

You want good sound? Get that mic OFF the camera and onto a boom or stand!

I'm a ENG journalist by trade and have a degree in film/video production. Get the mic away from the camera if at all possible and closer to the talkers. Have a buddy run boom overhead if you can, otherwise use a boom mic stand and extend it out over the talkers. And of course, get a good quality shotgun mic.

If you can't do the boom or stand thing, so be it. But try, darn it, try. Do what you can.

absolutely John, but that Rode mic has a shock mount and that can easily be put on a boom (a painter's pole is LOTS less expensive than 'pro') or stand (I built mine out of 1" pvc pipe for $10) with a simple extension cable.

Thanks for the responses guys! To be honest the main reason I want it is just to get some higher quality sound as maybe I am walking around, or at the beach or something... Just something to get better sounds of nature, and I guess people. But I'm not going to be doing sole interviews with it or anything, if you know what I mean. I just want some higher quality audio as I am walking around. I am planning on moving to California in April, so I will be doing a lot of shooting! The main reason for the whole thing is just so I can start making videos for my music, kind of doing my own thing I guess.

This is the thing that I just bought for it, and the mic would go on top.

And a boom pole would be kind of out of the question because I will be doing this solo dolo. So I want a mic that is good for capturing just general sounds of the world, and not really focusing on anything. That's why I was thinking that the stereo mic would be the best bet. Or should I just buy one of those portable recorders and duct tape it to my grip? :)

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After some more research I am definitely going to go with the SVM that was posted. It really has an amazing pickup of ambient sound which is what I want, and it comes with the dead kitten which is phenomenal at reducing the wind noise from the videos that I saw. Gotta save a little more money first though!

This was just announced 6 hours ago. Maybe its something you haven't considered yet? Please keep me informed because I am particularly interested in what you are doing!

http://recording.org/content/659-rode-videomic-pro.html

Thanks for that response! I think that a great video to explain the difference between the two is right here.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://vimeo.com/27…"]Canon 5d Mark II: Røde Stereo and Mono VideoMic Indoor Audio Comparison on Vimeo[/]="http://vimeo.com/27…"]Canon 5d Mark II: Røde Stereo and Mono VideoMic Indoor Audio Comparison on Vimeo[/]

WOW! I definitely want the stereo mic for what I am going to be doing. Either will be great I'm sure, depending on your application. But I want to capture the sounds of the environment more than isolating them, so I definitely know that the stereo is the way I'm gonna go.